Car Review: 2010 Audi TT RS

2010 Audi TT RS.

PHOTO: Handout, Audi

Audi pours on the hot sauce with TT RS

By David Booth, Canwest News Service

Originally published: August 10, 2011

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Zolder, Belgium – Not so very long ago, had you wanted to squeeze more than two horsepower out of every cubic inch of your road-going automobile engine, you would have had to embark on some pretty drastic measures. Not only would you have had to slap on a supersized turbocharger to achieve that incredible specific horsepower, but you would almost certainly have had to shell out for some mondo-expensive Carillo connecting rods lest you want to frag the bottom end of the engine. Ditto the crankshaft, which might have seen a substitution for a forged item to deal with the increased revs. You might even have had to replace the cylinder studs because all of that increased combustion pressure might have lifted the cylinder head off its moorings and melted the head gasket. Even with all that, there’s every chance the engine would have grenaded the first time it revved past 6,500 rpm inanger.

These days, all you have to do is mosey over to your friendly neighbourhood Audi dealer, cut him a cheque for around $75,000and walk off with a brand-new 2010 TT RS. Not only does it boast a whopping great 340 horsepower from its 2.5-litre engine, it does so with the promise of everyday drivability, Audi having the audacity to offer such a hot rod with its standard four-year powertrain warranty.

Toget that much horsepower from such a small engine, Audi’s engineers had to seriously tweak the boost. Where so many turbocharged engines max out at about eight pounds per square inch (psi) of boost, the little Audi five-cylinder runs a dragster-like 18 psi. Normally, this would require a super-low compression ratio (and the attendant turbo lag at low rpm), but the RS enjoys direct fuel injection and a huge air-to-air intercooler, both of which make all that turbo boost livable despite the RS’s 10:1 compression ratio. The end result is a four-wheel-drive Audi with an engine not much bigger than a Jetta’s being able to scoot to 100 kilometres an hour in just 4.6 seconds.

That’s pretty amazing stuff. Certainly, once you punch the TT RS past 2,500rpm, it seems to gain extra cylinders and a few litres in displacement. On the autobahn between Cologne and Koblenz, the RS catapulted quite rapidly to 250 km/h before gradually eking out a 270-km/h top end. Thisis definitely not your typical Audi TT.

Indeed, with a V8-like 330 pound-feet available as low as 1,600 rpm, the RS is a veritable torque monster.

Like so many turbocharged engines, the RS’s 2.5L shuts down quite early.

Thoughit’s redlined at 6,800 rpm, those maximum 340 horses arrive at a relatively low 5,400 rpm and, although the power doesn’t drop off dramatically, revving much past 6,000 rpm serves little purpose. Keep the tach between 3,000 and 5,500 rpm and throttling the RS is like surfing the crest of a very powerful wave. Rev it higher and it gets rough and vibey. Getting the most of the RS means short-shifting the six-speed manual box long before the five- cylinder starts making uncomfortable thrashing noises.

Unlike TTs past, the RS’s chassis is also up to the job of handling all this performance. Certainly, the coupe version’s combined aluminum and steel framework is stiff enough to handle the new-found turn of speed. But what really makes the RS stand out is Audi’s new high-tech magnetic ride suspension. Essentially shock absorbers with damping fluid that reacts to electrical impulses,the magnetic ride system is one of the most sophisticated and quickest-reacting adjustable suspensions available (a similar system isused on top-end Cadillacs and Corvettes). Flung through low-speed hairpins at racing speeds, the RS will still push the front end.

But, through high-speed sweepers, it feels remarkably planted. And magneticride allows the RS the firm settings that engender the TT’s phenomenal– for such a small car — high-speed stability and cornering prowess without unduly punishing more delicate behinds.

Said posteriors had better be diminutive, however. The TT has always been a car for the small of frame, but the RS’s seats are the tightest I have ever experienced. As deeply bolstered as any race seat, the front buckets are barely wide enough for my overly exercised, skinny butt. If your Levis are any wider than a 34 regular fit, you may have trouble fitting into the RS.

On the other hand, all that generous side bolstering was welcomed when we tossed the RS to and fro on Belgium’s famed Zolderrace track. Of course, the TT’s rear perches are best reserved for the short.

The rest of the car’s interior is standard Audi fare,which is to say a combination of excellent build quality and the finest quality leather and trim bits. Unlike other Audis, the centre dashboardis not festooned with a plethora of buttons. As befits the RS’s pure sports car intent, the switchgear is far more basic than standard Audi fare. Even the navigation system is relatively easy to use.

Less noteworthy, though, is Audi’s use of a Bose audio system in the RS.

This car is the top echelon of TT-dom and deserves the Bang & Olufsen equipment that other top-of-the-range Audis boast. Audi Canada may yet offer a B&O system as an option.

Certainly, the rest of the car screams of Audi’s best. The company’s success at endurance racing has to be credited for its ability to make what should be a highly strung and short-lived go-kart feel so sophisticated.